Deal reached to allow Ruby's Waterfront to reopen

Covington, owner reach agreement to reopen it

Apr. 18, 2013

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MARCH 2011: Jeff Ruby's Waterfront is towed uprive...: In March, 2011 owner Jeff Ruby reflects as his floating restaurant is towed upriver against the Ohio's strong current. Produced by Carrie Cochran.

Covington city officials announced Thursday they have reached an agreement with Waterfront owner Jeff Ruby to move the restaurant about a half mile east up the Ohio River to Covington Landing and reopen it. The Enquirer/Patrick Reddy

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COVINGTON — On a Friday night two years ago, the region watched, riveted, as Jeff Ruby’s Waterfront partially broke away from its moorings and 84 guests and employees were safely evacuated from the floating restaurant on live TV.

A fixture on the banks of the Ohio River for 25 years, the doors of the upscale steakhouse remained shuttered after the incident – but they may soon reopen.

A deal has finally been reached to reopen the Waterfront in a new location, city officials told the Enquirer Thursday.

“We have a meeting of the minds, but it’s just a matter of getting the folks to sit down and sign the document,” said City Solicitor Frank Warnock.

The Waterfront will move about half a mile upriver to the foot of Madison Avenue, the site once occupied by the Covington Landing dining and entertainment complex, officials confirmed Thursday. Other terms of the deal are unknown, and Ruby said some elements have yet to be resolved. More details will be revealed at a press conference today.

“While it looks very good, like it’s going to happen, it’s going to be announced tomorrow,” Ruby told the Enquirer Thursday.

For decades, the restaurant was moored near the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge. In March 2011, it remained open amid heavy spring flooding even as other riverfront restaurants closed. Then one night, several cables that anchored it to the shore suddenly snapped, jarring the structure loose.

The high cost of moving the restaurant and reopening it in a new location has been a major obstacle – estimates by the city over the years put the cost anywhere between $1 and $2.5 million – but a deal between Ruby and the city has long been rumored to be in the works.

Both parties will benefit: Ruby will reopen a popular, landmark location he once described as a sentimental favorite among his six restaurants, and the city’s flagging riverfront region will receive a badly needed shot of vitality.

“We’re all optimistic that it’ll be a great success for Jeff Ruby and for the city of Covington,” Warnock said.

Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment owns and operates three other upscale steakhouses in Greater Cincinnati, including The Precinct, as well as steakhouses in Louisville and in Indiana.